1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a composite material comprising a microfibrous portion and an elastomer/lamellar clay nanocomposite matrix, preferably a polyurethane/lamellar clay nanocomposite matrix, wherein the lamellar clay is selected from the group consisting of organophilic clays and functionalized organophilic clays.
The present invention also relates to a chamois woven-non-woven fabric produced from the above described composite material and a dyed chamois woven-non-woven fabric.
The present invention further relates to a chamois woven-non-woven fabric containing UV stabilizers, produced from the above described composite material and a dyed chamois woven-non-woven fabric.
2. Description of Related Art
Chamois woven-non-woven fabrics typically include a polyurethane component, which s is not easily dyeable in comparison with other fabric polymers, such as polyesters and nylon. Furthermore, once dyed, such polyurethane materials are affected by a poor stability of the dyes to water washing and to rubbing.
Attempts have been made to increase the dyeability of the polyurethane matrix. Patents EP-A-0662981 and JP-6207381, for example, describe the production of a chamois woven-non-woven fabric (hereinafter also called a microfibrous non-woven fabric) from a microfiber containing a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or a polyamide (Nylon 6 or Nylon 6-6) together with a polyurethane-urea having tertiary amine units within the chain, wherein said tertiary amine units are part of the polyol polyester forming the polyurethane. Therefore, not only in the microfibrous component of the microfibrous non-woven fabric is dyed using dispersed dyes, but also the polyurethane component is dyed using reactive dyes (capable of chemically binding to the amine and amide groups in the polyurethane chain), acidic dyes, or pre-metallized dyes (capable of binding by the formation of ionic and dative bonds).
This technology, however, has drawbacks deriving from the formulation of the polyurethane component, because the amine group in the chain may cause undesired effects of basic catalysis during polyurethane synthesis.